Jipmer expects to play a pivotal role in the field of telemedicine under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Sri Lanka to facilitate direct high-speed internet connectivity between the two countries.
Under this pact, the National Knowledge Network (NKN) would join with Lanka Education and Research Network (LEARN) to facilitate high-speed connectivity.
The MoU was signed in Colombo recently by the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad and Sri Lankan Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Harin Fernando.
Jipmer Director Prof. S.C. Parija who participated at the MoU signing via video conferencing pointed to the game-changing potential in the collaboration between NKN and LEARN which provide high-speed internet connectivity for academic and research purpose.
Better collaboration
Earlier telemedicine interaction between India and Sri Lanka was routed through a high-speed Singapore Internet network.
At the conference, Dr. Parija said the MoU would help both the countries to come together on a common platform using telemedicine for academic and research collaboration.
He pointed out that in 2013, Jipmer was designated the Regional Resource Centre (RRC) for telemedicine activities in South India. The RRC caters to more than 160 medical colleges in six south Indian states using NKN 1Gbps high speed network connectivity and conducts regular telemedicine sessions every fortnight.
One of the important initiatives of RRC is the launch of Jipmer-BIMSTEC Telemedicine Network (JBTN) using NKN. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation formed with the main objective of promoting technological and economic cooperation among countries along the coast of the Bay of Bengal.
The University of Kelaniya, Colombo University and University of Sri Jeyawardenapura from Sri Lanka are part of Jipmer-BIMSTEC Telemedicine Network, Dr. Parija noted.
Dr. Shukla, Director of NIC, Puducherry and Dr. Kalayarasan, Member secretary of Telemedicine at Jipmer participated.
